April 2013 Archives

In Worcester and throughout Massachusetts, spring is traditionally a popular time to put homes on the market. As people anticipate summer relocations, purchasing residential real estate becomes a priority for individuals seeking to establish new roots. What home buyers and sellers will face this spring may be somewhat different than what the housing market presented a year ago.

By Jeffrey P. Greenberg, Pam Stevens of Seder & Chandler, LLP posted in Family Law on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

Divorce and post-divorce matters are only a few of the areas of law focused on by family law attorneys. Massachusetts family law attorneys also assist couples in asset planning through marital agreements, both before and after marriage. Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements have become increasingly common in our society as the stigma related to these agreements has diminished over the past decades. These agreements have also become more common as the traditional view of men as the primary breadwinners is no longer a reality in many Massachusetts households.

By Robert S. Adler, Paul J. O'Riordan of Seder & Chandler, LLP posted in Mortgage on Tuesday, April 23, 2013.

With mortgages approaching record lows, many Massachusetts homeowners are rushing to refinance their homes in order to pay a lower rate. However, this is often a Catch-22. Mortgage rates are low and home values have been decreasing as well, making it difficult for many homeowners to even refinance their home. This makes appraisals one of the most common mortgage issues.

By Robert S. Adler of Seder & Chandler, LLP posted in Sales & Dissolutions on Tuesday, April 23, 2013.

Massachusetts is among the many states in which Hostess breads and snacks were at one time iconic foods until the company's bankruptcy in 2012. Now, a business sale has been approved by the court that will allow the company to liquidate the last of its major lines of products, bringing the sale price for the company's assets to a total of $860 million. Hostess has sold Drake's, the line that sold snack cakes, to McKee foods for $27.5 million. The company is also selling several bread and cake lines to United States Bakery Inc., Flowers Foods, Grupo Bimbo and other investors also purchased various lines including the famous Twinkie snack food. In each case, the company to which the business line was sold was the highest of several bidders.

A federal judge has ruled that certain technology companies such as Apple and Google should not be sued under a class action strategy. The judge's ruling was explained by the belief that the various allegations of wage repression and freedom to transfer jobs were too diverse to result in a successful class action lawsuit. For Massachusetts workers who might have been considering joining a class action business litigation suit, this means that they will now be required to file individual complaints against technology companies.Tens of thousands of employees of various technology companies are said to have been affected by the companies' actions. However, the judge believed that the rights of the workers covered too many various issues to allow their complaints to be filed singly. A class action lawsuit must address similar issues for all plaintiffs in order to be collectively filed, and a judge must rule that the class can exist based on the evidence presented by the plaintiffs.

Divorce can be one of the most difficult phases of life for a separating couple. Although the Massachusetts divorce rate is one of the lowest in the country, divorce is still widespread throughout the state. Readers of our family law blog may be interested to learn of new census data that shows an increase in the rate of divorce in the Bay State.

Many individuals experience a sense of personal pride when they buy and then live in their own homes. However, residential real estate in Worcester has been hit hard by the national foreclosure situation and foreclosure has thrown many homeowners into financial insecurity. When mortgage payments become unmanageable and homeowners are uncertain of what to do, foreclosure can be the ultimate result.

Massachusetts residents may have heard about an app, created by a 17-year-old British boy, that has millions of downloads so far and has gained the attention of Yahoo, who purchased the rights for an amount rumored to be around $30 million. The business entity selection is said to be based not on a desire to use the app in Yahoo's lineup but rather to secure the algorithm that drives the performance.Summly, the young entrepreneur's venture into the app world, summarizes data from thousands of sources. The algorithmically-based summarizations make it easy for users to scan news or other information in a concise format. Yahoo is said to have "bought the math" rather than the app itself; in fact, the app has already disappeared from the iOS App store.

As readers of our Central Massachusetts family law blog are aware, the enforcement of child support orders can be a big source of stress for the recipients. In every Massachusetts divorce involving children, issues related to child support and child custody and visitation must be settled. However, once a child support order is in place, it can be difficult for recipients to enforce such orders.

Spring is blooming in the greater Boston area, and with the thawing temperatures has come a thaw in the residential housing market. People hoping to make a real estate purchase this season are entering the market in droves, and what was once a stagnant home sellers' environment has turned into a blossoming market of opportunities.

Although Harvard Business School graduates have been lukewarm about starting businesses in Boston, the city has much to offer a start-up company. The act of business formation should always take into account the benefits as well as the disadvantages of company start-ups, and Boston, which many feel is not friendly to entrepreneurs, can actually offer some benefits to the novice business owner. Although some experts state that entrepreneurs see Boston as having an inferior lifestyle and being unfriendly to business, the city has many advantages for business owners. Plenty of "start-up ready talent" is available in this college city, as well as mentorship from some of the country's best business owners. Boston is also full of people who have the vision to solve big business problems, including those who brainstorm creative solutions to the problems facing business owners.

By Jeffrey P. Greenberg, Pam Stevens of Seder & Chandler, LLP posted in Family Law on Friday, April 5, 2013.

As readers of our Central Massachusetts family law blog may be aware, the United States Supreme Court recently heard arguments in two separate cases involving domestic partnership issues. The first case involved California's ban on gay marriage, also known as Proposition 8. The 2008 voter initiative rescinded the marriage rights previously extended in California to same-sex couples.

The changes in the economy can significantly influence the housing market and when residents are willing to sell their homes. The Massachusetts housing crisis is impacting all of Worcester's homeowners, including its wealthier residents.

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